


Take Me Home

by bearywest



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Galra Keith (Voltron), Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Tangled (2010), Multi, Polyamorous Character, Trans Pidge | Katie Holt, Work In Progress, baby Keith
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-08-14 03:23:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 20,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7996807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bearywest/pseuds/bearywest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Long lost space Prince Keith Kogane has forgotten all about the family he has left on Earth. In the hands of the Galra's Emperor, Zarkon, since the age of 4, Keith has powers of quintessence that allow him to heal people, but with dangerous consequences. Now, 16 years later, Lance, a space pirate on the run from the Intergalactic Police, runs across Keith after getting separated from his fellow pirates due to technological difficulties and landing on a seemingly empty planet. He promises to take Keith to Earth to see the beautiful satellites they release once a year after getting his ship fixed. However, Lance has figured out, based on the stories his Mama used to tell him about a lost prince shot into space, that Keith is a Prince and is instead planning on turning Keith in, with the help of his fellow pirates, for a bounty to make them rich. Maybe an adventure or two will change his mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The Tangled AU I couldn't find and decided to write myself. Thank you to: Lauren for cheerleading for me since I told her about this, Bree for being there for me for some hard days, and the biggest thank you to Dayngel for [inspiring this au](http://princexallura.tumblr.com/post/149166222650/klance-space-rapunzel-au-part-1-w-hvnkgarret) and also drawing[ amazing incredible out of this world art](http://princexallura.tumblr.com/post/150134378325/princexallura-some-stuff-from-hvnkgarret-and) for it.  
> Also a forewarning, all of the science/space ship stuff is completely made up and just based on my limited knowledge. If you think anything else needs to be tagged please let me know! Thank you for giving this a shot!
> 
> P.S. the title is kinda from the song Looking Gold by Touche (its good i recommend a listen!)

At first, things couldn’t be more perfect. The Galra, a notoriously combative alien race, and Earth’s humans had finally agreed to a peace treaty through the marriage of a highly decorated Galran soldier to the to-be queen of Earth’s reigning peoples. 

No one expected anything to come of a loveless arranged marriage, let alone tolerance that faded into friendship that drifted towards amorous feelings. So when it was announced that the newly crowned Queen and her King Consort were with child, both of the races were pleased that their new peace would be cemented in more than just a marriage that was perceived from the outside as rocky and unwanted. Behind closed doors, both Thace and Mina celebrated the consummation of their love privately.

The thing about cross species children is that they are hard on the mother to carry. While the baby flourished, Mina began to fade with the stress on her body shown in her especially pale face. It got so bad that the Queen was confined to her quarters, and every morning was more of a struggle to wake up.

Thace put on a brave face for the public and his Galran associates, who he knew whispered behind his back about this being a good thing. That this would put a child raised by only the Galra in charge of Earth and this farce of a “relationship” would no longer be a burden on Zarkon, who has been forced in the light of peace to stop conquering planets. Or at least stop within the galaxy that Earth resided. 

On the inside, Thace was panicking. He loved Mina, more than he had ever believed it to be possible to love another being. When Zarkon told him he was one of the delegates to be sent to Earth as possible fiancee to the to-be Queen, Thace had never wanted to say no to an assignment more in his life. Had he not served the Galra Empire to the best of his ability for almost 10 years? Meeting Mina had not changed his opinion. As aesthetically pleasing as she may be, Thace had thought, how could she possibly measure up to what a Galran mate to offer? 

And Thace had been right, because Mina didn’t measure up to anything the Galra had to offer, she surpassed it. Mina was more than just pleasing to the eye, Mina had a sense of humor, a wit, that appealed to Thace and made him laugh for the first time since he joined Zarkon’s army. Mina showed him Earth on their honeymoon and showed him the beauty the planet he had once believed worthless except to own, had that was unique to Earth. The same kind of beauty that Mina herself had, both outwardly but inwardly. Mina was so unconditionally sweet to all the people she met. Sure, Thace and Mina fought, it comes out of having such fundamentally different beliefs, but Mina showed him that he didn’t know anything about Earth or even about himself. 

When Thace’s fondness began evolving towards something more he immediately approached his most trusted advisor. The man had simply raised an eyebrow and said that Thace couldn’t let his… feelings interfere with Emperor Zarkon’s plans. Thace thanked the man but when he thought about doing what Zarkon had asked of him, poisoning the Queen and all of her advisors to cripple Earth’s rule, he couldn’t imagine doing it. The thought of never seeing Mina’s radiant smile was not only hard it was impossible. A life without Mina, a universe without Mina, was something Thace simply didn’t want to imagine. 

So Thace did what he had to. He approached one of Mina’s advisors and dismissed his guard. The woman was suspicious immediately, and became increasingly so with every word out of Thace’s mouth.

“You’re telling me you want to… court… your own wife?” the woman clarified, the disbelief obvious on her face. It is at this time Thace is grateful that unlike his human companion, the Galra have no ability to blush. 

“Yes. I find that my emotions towards the Queen are flirting with being amorous and I wish to show her this,” Thace said, grateful his words didn’t betray his nerves. To his surprise the woman broke into a wide and inviting smile before nodding.

Thace didn’t know it at the time, but the woman, Laurel, was Mina’s best friend since childhood. Laurel spent the next 3 months coaching Thace through making Mina swoon. Mina was aware of the efforts and found them endlessly charming. Having to keep it out of not only the eye of the public but also the Galra sent with Thace was difficult, but the small smile Mina always gave Thace when his actions were accepted made his stomach flutter in an entirely unfamiliar, but not unwanted, way, made it worth it.

A murmur from Mina as she shifted uncomfortably in their bed made Thace stop reminiscing. The joy that had come from the announcement that Mina was indeed with child, Thace’s child, was hard to maintain when it was clear that it was his Galra DNA that her body was so violently rejecting. 

Over the course of the past few days, Thace had been tossing an idea around in his head. It could save Mina, but it would seal Thace’s fate. Thace knew the moment he realized his love for Mina, his days were numbered. Zarkon would never allow for his plans to be disrupted by a mere soldier, no matter how decorated. At first, Thace was alright with this, he had already told Mina and Laurel of the Galra’s plans for Mina, and what was his life in the face of one so bright as Mina’s? But now, there was a child involved. A child that Thace wanted to know more than he could possibly bear. Thace knew what it was like to grow up without a father, and he would never wish that on his own child. 

But he also wouldn’t wish growing up an orphan on his child. If Mina were to… If Mina were to die during the birth of their child, an immediate attack on Earth would be mounted by Zarkon while the planet was still rocked by the news. And when Zarkon learned of Thace’s betrayal he would kill Thace, and also possibly the child in his anger. 

However, if Mina could somehow survive, Zarkon would be forced to stay away in fear of Earth’s matched army and their fake promise of peace. Thace wrung his hands, a nervous gesture he had picked up from the woman in the bed next to him. 

There was a secret, one Thace had not even shared with Mina, one that all Galra were sworn to keep. But this secret could save Mina’s life. 

His mind made up, Thace got out of bed and placed a gentle kiss on his wife’s forehead. She shuddered at the coldness her body felt from his lips, a result of the raging fever racking her body, as Galra ran a few degrees hotter than humans. A frown twisted Thace’s lips.

“I shall love you forever, my dear. I hope that one day, you may forgive me,” Thace said, in his native tongue. It was with a heavy heart that he left the room.

An unwanted sense of deja vu hit Thace as he knocked upon the same door he had nearly a year ago, seeking guidance from the same disgruntled woman as she ungracefully opened her door.

“What could possibly be so important Thace, I’m sleep-” Laurel began, before she saw the grim look on Thace’s face. Sticking her head out the door she looked left then right before nodding and letting him enter. Laurel immediately started to make tea, something Thace knew to mean she needed something to do with her hands.

“I know how to save the Queen,” Thace said, deciding to not, as humans call it, “beat around the bush”. To his surprise, Laurel didn’t even look fazed, she only sighed.

“I figured,” Laurel said, licking her lips. “Alright, lay it on me big man, what’s your wild plan.” Thace raised an eyebrow and Laurel waved a hand dismissively. “Oh don’t even pretend you don’t have a fully fleshed plan you’re a military man, Thace, and you know I know you.” It takes Thace a minute to gather the courage to talk.

“Over 1000 years ago, my empire discovered something that changed everything. We call it quintessence. Harvested from planets, it has incredible abilities that even we, after all this time have yet to discover. One of these is the incredible ability to heal. Minor wounds, major wounds, it can even prolong life.” Thace took a moment to take a breath. “I know this because the man to discover quintessence was Zarkon.” Thace looked over at Laurel who looked mildly surprised, but also hopeful.

“So what’s the wild part of this plan, Thace,” Laurel asked, almost afraid of the answer. Proving her right, Thace grimaced.

“The problem is, when Earth signed a peace treaty with Zarkon, it forced him to stop his work of stealing planets’ quintessence. So, as far as I know, he has an extremely limited amount, and is literally guarding it with his life,” Thace explained, the despair clear in his voice.  
“Holy shit Thace,” was all Laurel could manage to say and he nodded. And maybe it was how defeated he already looked, or maybe it was the fact that Laurel had unexpectedly found a friend in this man, but Laurel abruptly stood and forcefully took Thace’s chin in her hand. “You’re not allowed to give up, Thace. Giving up means my best friend dies and I can’t, no, I won’t let that happen. So stop wallowing and figure out how we’re going to get this ‘Quint Essence’ so we can save the life of the Queen.”

So he did.

\----

Stealing a ship was easy. Finding out where Zarkon kept his quintessence was slightly harder, but still not impossible. Sneaking onto the Galra ship was a breeze. Avoiding Galra guard, simple when you remember the guard shifts. It was when they finally found the room with the quintessence inside that problems arose.

“I’m almost kind of glad there’s a million guards and traps because everything being this easy has been making me nervous,” Laurel whispered to Thace, who shot her an especially dirty look. Laurel rolled her eyes before putting on the helmet that finished her Galra disguise. She was nowhere near large enough for the disguise to work, but it was more of a ‘keep your identity a secret just a case’ measure than for sneaking. Thace took a deep breath to calm himself and went to go over the plan one more time with Laurel but she smirked at him and took off screaming at the guards. 

If they got out of here alive Thace was going to have a very long talk with Laurel about cooperative missions. Not that she would listen but it was the thought that counts. While Laurel could hold her own in battle she was no match for 6 trained Galra soldiers with orders to shoot and kill. Fortunately, Laurel was there as a distraction so that Thace could quietly dispatch them one by one. Thace hated putting Laurel in danger but she insisted, pointing out that if something happened to her the battle could go on, but if something happened to Thace she wasn’t Galra and had no way to access any terminals. 

It went against every fiber of his being to kill his comrades, sure he didn’t know any of these guards personally, but at one point in his life he would have willingly and even happily done exactly what these guards were doing. But he also knew that if he left them alive they could contact other ships and that couldn’t happen if he was going to be able to make it to Earth with the quintessence. So Thace did the best he could to make their deaths swift and muttered prayers he had heard on Earth.

After battles, people will talk about how everything seemed to go on forever, that a 10 minute battle could seem like it lasted for hours, but for Thace it was the opposite. Every movement, every breath seemed to speed up and it was like someone pressed the fast forward button on life. In almost no time at all, all of the soldiers were on the floor, stained an ugly purple. Laurel’s forehead was bleeding a vibrant red, her bottom lip split, knuckles stained the same purple on the ground. Thace was aware of a few cuts and bruises littering his body, but overall he was fine. 

Laurel wiped her mouth and looked grimly at the bodies before stepping over one before leaning down and grabbing the buckle on the Galra’s belt and pulling on it before it snapped off. The body hitting the floor made a sickening thump and Thace resisted the urge to shudder. Laurel handed the trinket off to Thace who put it in the control panel which lit up purple in response. Thace’s hand hovered over the control in hesitation, if this didn’t work then Mina would die, but he placed his hand down before he could overthink it.

To his relief the door slid open to reveal large vials, most of them empty, but 3 filled with a light blue substance, that seemed to be almost alive as it crackled and moved within its containment. Laurel gasped at the sight. She had believed Thace when he said it existed, but seeing it here in person, was another thing. Thace gently picked up one of the containers waiting with baited breath to see if some sort of alarm went off. To his great surprise there was none.

Laurel waited in the doorway anxiously bouncing on her heels looking out for the Galra patrol. Checking her watch she hissed in fear.

“We have to go now, Thace, the guard rolls around in 3 minutes. We barely have enough time to get back to our ship.” Laurel’s words snapped Thace out of his trance of watching the quintessence dance in its confines. Mina. Thace had to think of Mina, who was home-- and when had Thace started thinking of Earth as his home?-- on Earth and needed this. So Thace rushed out after Laurel, both of them deftly avoiding the guards. Mere seconds after they left the base it lit up in red alert and Laurel and Thace watched in a mix of awe and horror as base, carefully rigged up by Laurel, exploded cutting the shrill alarm short. 

Thace didn’t have time to feel bad for his traitorous actions. While the red alert had been stopped by the explosives, Haggar, the overseer of the quintessence, or another Galra soldier, would eventually call the base and upon finding nothing but dead air would tell Zarkon. Then, when Mina miraculously recovered, Thace had no doubt that Zarkon would know. 

The days that it took for Thace and Laurel to travel with their precious cargo all the way back to Earth were far more stressful than the ones away from it. Any second a Galra ship could show up and destroy them and then all of their efforts would be wasted. Neither Laurel nor Thace let themselves relax until they reached the surface of the planet. It was the dead of night and Laurel stashed the ship in a cargo bay where it wouldn’t be found for a few hours. 

The two rushed towards their chambers. Fortunately, the late hour meant the halls were nearly deserted. Thace saw the only Galra he trusted with his beloved wife, who may not understand the reasons that Thace needed to go off planet but put his duty above his personal beliefs. That Thace had only mentioned an alien potion and not told him that Thace was literally betraying Zarkon, their ruler, was besides the point. The Galra didn’t even question Thace when he dismissed him, only nodded and walked to where the Galran quarters were in another wing of the castle. 

It was a good sign that there wasn’t anyone else near the room because as the Queen was to be checked up on every hour, there was a very little chance that something had happened. Despite this, both Laurel and Thace found themselves extremely unwilling to open the door. Laurel was the first to bite the bullet and forced out a breath before pressing the button before the door swished open. 

Thace and Laurel had only been gone for less than a week but it was clear the Queen’s condition was deteriorating. Her breathing was thick and heavy and a thin sheen of sweat decorated her furrowed brow on her too pale face. Thace felt as those his feet were anchored down as he stumbled over to their bedside collapsing at the edge and taking his Queen’s hand into both of his before gently kissing it. 

It was then Thace knew he would betray Zarkon a thousand times over if only to see her smile light up his world one more time. Home wasn’t Earth. Home was by Mina’s side as she showed him was living was like past battles and anger and blood and conquering. Determination replaced Thace’s fear and he stood up abruptly before carefully smoothing Mina’s hair away from her forehead and leaning down to kiss her softly on the lips. 

Laurel watched them and tumultuous emotions swirled through her stomach: horror at seeing her best friend like this, relief that this would be over soon, happiness that her friend had found someone who loved her so endlessly and a terrible, awful, aching jealousy. What surprised her is that it wasn’t just directed at Thace, she knew she would always love Mina too much, but also at Mina. That they had found each other. That Mina had a partner who would do anything for her and damn the consequences. She wanted it, and not just that feeling of being loved. She wanted them. Mina and her kindness, the kindness that made her such an incredible queen, the strength that came from growing up a princess and in the eye of the public. Thace and his ferocity that allowed him to be a soldier, but also to be a devoted partner. She wanted them to look at her the way they would look at each other. She wanted to be more than a trusted advisor. But now wasn’t the time. In fact, it would never be the time. So Laurel did what she always did and locked her feelings in a box in her head and threw away the key and stepped up as a friend, because that’s all she would ever be.

Clearing her throat, Laurel put a tentative hand on Thace’s shoulder and he looked over at her. Laurel pulled the quintessence out of her jacket and handed it to the man.

“Do you even know how this stuff works?” Laurel asked, looking doubtfully at Thace who sent her a nasty look, but he did look a little unsure himself.

“I don’t know the specifics, but as long as the quintessence sinks into her body it should heal her and allow her to carry the child without any of the dangerous ramifications. Unfortunately, it will only last for so long, so this will be the only child we shall bear, but no matter, I shall love them unconditionally,” Thace explained, inwardly thinking to himself that he would for the limited time he likely had left. 

“You guys are gonna be great parents,” was all Laurel could say in response, her throat thick with emotion. Thace gave her a grateful smile and when pleasure curled in her stomach she squashed it and returned it with one of her own. 

“Thank you, Laurel,” Thace said, and when Laurel opened her mouth, Thace lifted a hand and she closed it. “I mean it, Laurel. I never expected to find a friend, let alone one on Earth. Or a companion so generous and courageous. I will never be able to express to you how much it means to me that you’ve been here not only for Mina but for myself. Thank you.” Laurel would never admit it but her eyes were a little wet and she just nodded sharply. Then, to her surprise, Thace reeled her in for a hug before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. They stood there for a moment until Laurel awkwardly pulled away.

“Alright, big guy, let’s get to saving the Queen already, huh?” she asked, forcing a chuckle. Thace squared his shoulders and walked over to the other side of the bed while Laurel sat on the empty space Thace usually occupied and took Mina’s cold, clammy hand. She squeezed Mina’s hand once, more for her own benefit before gently taking Mina’s chin in her hand and opening Mina’s mouth. Thace carefully unscrewed the lid of the container before tipping the opening towards Mina’s now slack mouth. 

The crackling energy slithered out and down Mina’s throat and Laurel watched as Mina reflexively swallowed. A few seconds later, Mina began to glow a light purple-ish blue and Laurel immediately let go of Mina’s chin, scrambling back and praying for the first time in years. Thace watched as the light grew brighter until it was almost hurting his sensitive yellow eyes before fading quickly. Left in its place was Mina, whose color had returned to her face and cheeks. 

Laurel let out a wet gasp and finally let her tears fall down her face before collapsing on the bed and burying her face in the sheets, body shaking with relief, clutching desperately at Mina’s hand. Thace dropped to his knees and picked up Mina’s other hand before covering it in kisses. It was then that for the first time in over a week, Mina’s eyelids began to flutter. 

“Are you two being dramatic again?” Mina asked weakly, her voice hoarse, but there. Laurel lifted her head, face full of emotion before her mouth grew into a smile.

“Mina!” she screamed before launching herself at her friend and maybe it was the relief or maybe it was because she had been practically helpless to stop her friend from dying or maybe it was just that she couldn’t help it, but Laurel did what she had wanted to do so many times.

She kissed Mina, full on the mouth. Almost immediately she pulled away, horrified at herself. A quick look at Mina showed that Mina only looked a little surprise before the surprise faded into something else, and not the disgust that Laurel was expecting, but a fond smile spread across her face.

“You call that a kiss?” Mina asked, a smirk playing across her lips. Laurel was baffled and she looked over at Thace, who shrugged helplessly, but his own smile was big. Mina was apparently tired of messing around because she tangled her fingers in Laurel’s long hair and reeled her in and kissed Laurel. It was as though something shorted out in Laurel’s brain and all she could do was melt into the kiss and bring up her hand to carefully cradle Mina’s cheek in her hand. The kiss itself was soft and exploratory, a simple press of lips on lips. 

When their lips parted Laurel opened her eyes and watched Mina do the same, revealing her gorgeous brown eyes. Before she could stop herself Laurel leaned forward and pecked Mina on the nose and got to hear Mina’s beautiful light laugh that Laurel never thought she would hear again and got to see that pink blush spread across her cute nose and incredible cheekbones.

Their moment was ruined by Thace clearing his throat. Laurel whipped her head around to him and glared, but Mina laughed.

“Can I kiss my wife now, Laurel?” Thace teased and Laurel grumbled and moved out of the way but when Thace leaned down to kiss Mina, Laurel leaned across her and stole the kiss. Thace grunted in surprise but didn’t pull away. Mina pinched Laurel’s side but didn’t say anything and only watched them fondly. Kissing Thace was an entirely different experience than kissing Mina, Laurel realized because while Mina took control in her kiss, Thace let Laurel lead. 

“As much as I’m enjoying this, I haven’t kissed my husband in a very long time, and also I’m still pregnant and need to pee, so maybe, get off me?” Mina whined. Laurel broke the kiss with Thace but leaned in and gave him one more kiss, which made him smile. He kissed Laurel’s forehead and she finally pulled away and laid down next to Mina, who was carefully trying to sit up. 

“Take it slow, my love,” Thace warned, his face full of concern. Mina smiled at him and crooked her finger at him with a glint in her eye. Thace let a small smile take over his lips and instead of leaning down and simply kissing Mina, he scooped her up into her arms. Mina let out a peal of laughter and wrapped her arms around Thace’s neck, kicking her feet.

“Comfortable?” he teased, resisting a shiver as Mina played with the hairs on the back of his neck. Thace reveled in the feel of her in his arms, in the radiant, beautiful, perfect smile she had on her face, the one he had sworn to die just to see again. It was though a puzzle piece in his chest that had been slightly off was finally realigned and he could breath again. Thace gently let Mina’s feet touch the ground, still holding onto her (she had woken up from a week long coma she wasn’t exactly steady on her feet) before bowing his head and connecting their lips, one arm around her waist and the other on her back holding her up, both of them slightly dipped. 

Mina sighed into the kiss, one hand on each of Thace’s biceps, holding him closely. She didn’t know what kind of trouble he, and Laurel for that matter, had gotten into to save her, but based on the way Thace was holding her, just on the edge of desperate, it was clear that it hadn’t been easy. She surged into the kiss, finding strength in the knowledge that her husband had made it back to her safe and sound. Thace moaned quietly and let her take control, giving into her completely and totally.

Before now, watching Thace and Mina kiss had been anywhere from mildly to extremely uncomfortable for Laurel, but now, looking at them taking solace in one another, Laurel could only feel at peace, knowing that, for now, all of them were alive and well.

Mina broke the kiss with a gasp and leaned her head on the divot where Thace’s shoulder before pulling away.

“You know, I wasn’t entirely joking about having to pee a minute ago,” Mina said, completely deadpan and Thace couldn’t help it. He let out a chuckle that evolved into helpless giggles and guffaws, which set off Laurel, who buried her laughter in a pillow. Mina rolled her eyes and left her loves to set off towards the bathroom, chuckling a bit herself. 

By the time Mina returned, after taking a long hot shower to wash away the grime that sponge baths simply can’t get rid of and brushing the disgusting taste of over a week’s worth of morning breath, she found Thace and Laurel curled up in the huge canopy bed. Laurel was half on Thace’s chest, snoring lightly and Thace had one arm around Laurel and one across his stomach. Mina could only imagine how exhausted they must be, after so many days of worry and stress. 

A slightly evil grin found its way onto Mina’s face and she tiptoed over to her communicator, oblivious to the fact that Thace’s eyes were cracked and watching her amusedly. Mina snapped a few photos, taking care to save them to multiple places in case of Laurel going through her phone and trying to delete them. When she was satisfied she replaced it and wasn’t surprised when a yawn threatened to split her mouth in two. 

Her body was finally getting better and rest was necessary. So Mina moved the covers aside and crawled into bed behind Laurel, tucking her face into the back of Laurel’s neck and throwing a leg over Laurel’s before reaching to catch Thace’s other hand across Thace’s stomach. She should have been surprised that Thace squeezed her hand, clearly awake, but somehow she wasn’t. Mina simply squeezed back and fell asleep within moments.

It took Thace a lot longer to fall asleep, he was still coming down from the incredible adrenaline from the situation, but it was relaxing to lay in bed with two beautiful women who loved him and who he loved. Thace had surprised himself when he realized that he loved Laurel as much as he loved Mina, but he also felt like maybe there was always the possibility for something more when they interacted. Thace would have been okay with just friendship, and he could have never imagined something as perfect as what he had now. Sure, it would be hard to work out, and even more difficult to explain, but he found that he cared little. 

The pit in his stomach only increased when he remembered that they would have to explain the Queen’s miraculous recovery. No doubt every Galra would be suspicious, but the envoy was set to leave in 2 days. If everything could stay okay for about, Thace glanced at digital clock by the bed, 45 hours, then the Galra with him would leave Earth to report back to Zarkon, then it didn’t matter if Zarkon suspected or even knew for a fact that it was Thace. They would be safe until Zarkon could find a way to defeat not only Earth’s defenses, but to get away with not being allied to another extremely powerful planet and their powerful allies. 

Oh, Thace had no doubts that he wouldn’t get what was coming to him from Zarkon, but he would do everything in his power to keep Mina, their unborn child, and Laurel out of it. It was with this new vow to himself, that Thace was finally able to drift off to sleep

~4 months later~

The baby was a boy, a beautiful splotchy purple skinned baby boy, with gorgeous grey purple eyes that reminded Thace of the quintessence that allowed him to live. The baby, they had named him Keith, had a serious face, but a smile that lit Thace up on the inside. Thace hadn’t thought his room had room for more love than what he had for Mina and then Laurel, but Keith changed his mind. There was absolutely nothing Thace wouldn’t do for his baby boy. Laurel relentlessly teased Thace about being wrapped around Keith’s chubby fingers, as if she wasn’t as well, and Mina would tell them both to stop bickering, the fondness in her eyes belying her sharp tone. 

Thace counted the days with his son. Here he was, alive for another 4 months. Zarkon was indeed suspicious of the Queen’s recovery, but luck was, for once, in Thace’s favor, and the doctors had tried a new treatment the night before Mina awoke. Of course there were whispers about why Thace and Laurel had gone missing for 4 days, but those whispers grew less suspicious when the Queen announced that Laurel had taken the place of Consort from Thace, who would be crowned King on the same day that Keith was baptized as Prince. 

The explosion at the ship that contained the quintessence was declared a fatal accident, but Thace could tell when he gave his monthly reports to his former superior, Sendak, that this was barely believed. Thace knew his days were numbered and this only made him cherish his moments with Keith, Mina, and Laurel all the more. 

Of course, not all moments with Mina and Laurel were perfect, Laurel tended to pull away when she thought that Keith was growing too attached to her and practically fled the planet when Keith reached for her and called her “Mama”. Mina had a lot of queenly duties to attend to and this made her jealous sometimes of the time that everyone else got to spend with Keith, and caused a few fights when she missed important moments and couldn’t get there in time. Thace still had issues expressing himself in public situations, once to the point that Laurel broke down in Mina’s arms about Thace not loving her when at an event Thace called her a “trusted friend”. 

Communication, Thace learned, was key. Laurel and Mina talked about sharing the title of mother, Mina explaining that even though Keith wasn’t related to Laurel by blood, she was still his mother, and Mina was okay with this. Mina learned how to delegate to not only Laurel and Thace, but also her other advisors, so that she could spend more time with Keith without worrying about the monarchy falling to pieces. Thace opened up to Laurel and Mina about his time in the military and with the Galra in general and how this level of openness about relationships was new to him and he didn’t know what to say when approached by strangers or the press. 

And Keith, Keith was perfect. The purple faded from his skin, leaving him with the same beautiful skin as his mother and the same dark hair. It was only when he got upset that Keith turned Galra, and sometimes, Thace would swear that Keith’s eyes would glow sometimes. It was when Keith was around 6 months old that the trio began to grow suspicious of this phenomenon. 

All day Mina had been complaining about a headache, even going so far as to cancel a meeting, which she never did. Keith was inconsolable that his Ma wouldn’t hold him, crying and screaming. Mina couldn’t handle her son’s tears and even though she was laying down she ordered Thace to “Bring me my son goddammit, Thace, don’t make me ask again.” So Thace let out a long-suffering sigh and looked at the ceiling wondering why he fell for someone so infuriating and went to get a wailing Keith from Laurel who looked stressed to the nines. 

As soon as Keith settled into Mina’s arms he quieted and began to blubber at her, eyes wide as he watched her carefully. Mina cooed at him and cuddled him to her chest before kissing his face until he giggled. A few minutes later someone in the hall dropped something and Mina winced at the loud sound. Keith looked at her concerned, his little brow furrowing. 

He reached out a hand and set it on her face, before scrunching his nose as though concentrating. Thace and Laurel, who had just walked back into the room after leaving for a few minutes to get Keith a bottle, were chatting, but stopped upon finding Keith and his little chubby hands glowing a bright blue purple, along with his eyes. The glow faded within seconds, reminding both of them of only 4 months prior and a very similar situation, and Mina stared at her son in awe, not sure how to react. 

“The headache is gone,” Mina managed in a whisper, pulling Keith close to her chest where he nuzzled into her neck before falling straight asleep. Laurel was openly gaping and Thace’s eyes were very wide. “Like I never had it.”

“I never imagined the quintessence would have such a side effect,” Thace whispered, breaking from his trance when Mina spoke. Thace and Laurel had long since told Mina all about quintessence and their voyage into space. To say Mina had been upset was an understatement, but she was also grateful to not only be alive but to have Keith with her. 

Laurel thought of something and immediately went very pale and had to sit down in the chair in the corner of the large room, shaking hands setting Keith’s bottle on the table next to her.

“What is it Laurel,” Mina asked hesitantly, not entirely sure if she wanted the answer. Laurel wrapped her arms around herself and shook her head, eyes filling with tears. Thace worriedly bent down and sat on his knees in front of her, stealing her hands off of her arms and holding them tightly.

“Tell us, Lo,” Thace encouraged and Laurel finally looked up at him and mouthed ‘Zarkon’. Thace fell away from her in horror. Zarkon would know immediately if he ever saw Keith. So far he had been busy, but Keith was to be officially introduced in an intergalactic call in less than a week. Keith’s eyes would give him away, and if they didn’t then rumors would eventually spread about the glow. Zarkon would hurt anyone and everyone on Earth if he found out that he didn’t need planets anymore to harvest quintessence, and just an innocent baby. 

Mina looked confused, but she wasn’t stupid; it only took her a few more moments to figure out what could make her lovers look so fearful. 

“Zarkon,” she hissed, her face twisting into a snarl, her tone making Keith whimper. She immediately shushed and rocked him until he settled back into sleep. 

“We can’t let him have Keith,” Laurel choked out, tears streaming down her face. Thace reached up and retook her hand, and this time it was Laurel who was clutching at Thace. Mina closed her eyes and concentrated very carefully on controlling her rage. Her son would never fall into the hands of that monster if she had to kill him with her own hands and tear apart the very fabric of the universe to keep him safe.

Thace tried very hard not to shut down. The thought of Zarkon using his son to prolong his own life and take over other planets, use his son as a weapon, was so abhorrent that he had to bite back a growl. Once upon a time, not only would have Thace encouraged Zarkon to find another method to get quintessence, he likely would have helped him do it. Before Thace came to Earth, he did have doubts, but Zarkon was his leader and was to be followed unquestioningly. But now, Thace swallowed back bile when he imagined any child in Zarkon’s hands. 

Laurel never imagined herself as a mother, maybe a cool aunt or a godmother, but never could she have understood the breadth of a mother’s love before Keith. It didn’t matter to her that Keith wasn’t her son by blood, Keith was still her son. He called her Mama and craved her attention and loved her unconditionally and her entire world revolved around Keith. 

It was a few minutes before anyone could speak, all of them wallowing in their own fear and grief. Were they a normal family, this would have been a wondrous and awe-inspiring moment, but because of Zarkon, it was darkened. Finally, Laurel’s tears dried, Thace got a hold of himself, and Mina handled her anger. Laurel was the first to speak, her voice scratchy, but confident.  
“We need to figure out a way to keep Keith out of Zarkon’s hands. It inevitable he will find out about Keith and the quintessence, we knew that when we stole it, now it’s just a matter of keeping Keith safe for as long as possible, until we can get him off planet,” Laurel said. Mina looked over at her confused.

“Off planet? I don’t understand,” Mina said, clutching Keith tighter at the thought of sending him away. Thace got off the floor and stood up, beginning to pace, as he thought.

“We have to, Mina, it’s the only way to keep Keith, and Earth safe, from Zarkon. The universe is huge and it wouldn’t be forever. Just until we can get rid of Zarkon permanently. We signed this peace treaty because we both know each other are strong, but not quite strong enough to completely destroy the other. Zarkon wouldn’t dare attack us because he knows we have powerful allies, but we also wouldn’t dare attack Zarkon because his army is too large. So we bide our time, send me or Thace with Keith to a remote location while the other two stay on Earth and come up with a plan to get out from under this threat. This way, Keith is kept safe in space, and when all is said and done he comes back to a Earth free from Zarkon,” Laurel explained. 

“I’ll go,” Thace said immediately. “And we can’t send him right now. Keith is too young to survive in space, no matter who goes with him. We will have to risk waiting until he’s about 4 or 5. That gives us at least 4 years to plan and maybe we will come up with something in the meantime. For now, let’s get through the call with Zarkon. Contacts should cover Keith’s eyes and we’ll have to teach Keith to never use his quintessence. Not even in an emergency. For his protection.” 

Mina chewed her lip, an unsightly practice her etiquette teacher had never been able to truly break her of. Only 4 years with her precious boy until she had to let him go. Both Laurel and Thace watched Mina carefully, knowing that if she vetoed the plan they would come up with something else.

“Let’s do it.”  
~4 years, 2 months, and 13 days later~

Watching Keith grow up was simultaneously a very long and tedious experience and the fastest 4 years of Mina’s life. Currently, Mina was brushing Laurel’s long hair while they both listened to Keith shriek with laughter as Thace tried to force him into the day’s clothes, an activity that had quickly turned into tickles and kisses. 

4 years ago, one of the most stressful days of Mina’s life up until that point had passed like a gentle breeze. Zarkon had little interest in meeting Keith, especially a Keith with dull brown eyes and was grumpy from missing a nap. He spent a whopping 2 whole minutes inspecting the boy before turning to Thace expectantly, waiting for an emotionless report about the soldier’s son. 

When Zarkon was interrupted by Sendak with an urgent message about one of Empire’s planets, Thace had bowed and told Zarkon he understood. Zarkon hung up and Laurel had let out an audible and exaggerated sigh. Mina broke down into hysterical laughter at the sound while in Thace’s and Laurel’s embrace, and only Mina was surprised when it turned into sobs of relief. 

Now, stressful days still consisted of Zarkon’s quarterly calls, but also of days when Keith didn’t want to nap, or when he declared he wanted to learn how to fight with a sword (Mina had almost fainted), or the week when Keith decided that bath time was for babies. Days when finding a way to kill Zarkon seemed like an insurmountable mountain or when Keith reached out to help a hurt baby bird and healed it, eyes and bird alike glowing that alien blue purple. The day that Laurel ended have to teach a 3 (almost 4, Mama!) year old boy that he had to leave things alone, that he couldn’t help people or animals, that he had to let them die even though he could save them. Well, that day was a dark one. Keith didn’t talk to his parents for almost a full day before breaking down in Thace’s arms, sobbing. Thace’s heart broke with his son’s when, two days later, both he and Keith had to let a very sick puppy die. 

But not all days were dark. In fact, Keith lit up Mina’s, Laurel’s, and Thace’s lives with his cute giggle and his bright smile and the I love you’s that every single one of them cherished. Keith was an energetic little boy, although he preferred the company of his parents over other children. 

Despite Mina’s many (many) protests, the day after Keith asked, Laurel took him to a special training room and began to teach him how to fight with a foam sword and shield. Thace would have helped but he feared Mina’s wrath and usually only watched and filled out reports, occasionally mumbling suggestions under his breath. It go to the point that Laurel made her form purposefully bad until Thace got so upset he got up and stepped behind her to show her where to put her feet. When Laurel leaned back on Thace’s chest and looked up at him, a teasing smile on her lips, Thace figured out what she was doing and rolled his eyes. After that he gave in and helped Laurel teach Keith. 

Mina took teaching Keith the way of the Prince very seriously, and let Keith sit in when the the various peoples of Earth came to her for guidance. When Keith complained about the practice, Mina didn’t get angry, she simply sat Keith down and explained to him that the people of the world, their world, Earth, needed advice or simply someone to listen, she was going to always be there. One day it would be Keith’s duty. Keith had wrinkled his nose, but hesitantly agreed to do it, because it was his Ma asking. Mina beamed at her son and wrapped him up in a hug, kissing his face over and over until the crinkle in his nose faded and he was giggling and pushing her away.

“What, are you too old for your Ma’s kisses?” Mina asked teasingly with a pout, trying hard to hold back a laugh as Keith immediately looked very serious.

“Never Umma,” Keith declared, crossing his arms. Mina immediately melted and swung her little boy up into her arms and squeezed him tight.

“Well, in that case, I better I never stop giving you kisses,” Mina said, planting a kiss on Keith’s forehead, throat thick as she remembered that in a few months Keith and Thace would be leaving the planet. 

Whenever Thace could manage to sneak away from his duties not only as King but also as ambassador to Earth for the Galra, he would steal Keith away from whatever he was doing and take the little boy out to a restaurant. Together they tried new foods from all different cultures, all different parts of the world. Thace was always open to learn more about Earth and Keith liked spending time with his Daddy. Also the food. But mostly spending time with Daddy. 

Mina and Laurel both noticed Thace and Keith sneaking out, Keith taking it very seriously and sticking to the walls and Thace ambling along, holding Keith’s hand and nodding straight-faced at the guards as they let the two in and out of the castle. More often than not, Keith would eat too much and get tired. Then, by the time Thace came back, Keith was cradled in his arms completely asleep, drooling on Thace’s shoulder. 

All of these wonderful memories, four years later, and yet they still had no plan for killing Zarkon. He was too out of reach and the hell that would reign down on them is something that Earth couldn’t afford at this point. Mina finally finished with Laurel’s hair, pinning it carefully out of Laurel’s face. Thace managed to convince Keith to put on clothes for the day. Mina pretended not to notice that Thace had done so by telling Keith he could have an extra cookie after dinner and two whole juice boxes. The glint in Keith’s eye when Thace gave in, after very little pressure, made Mina fear for Thace’s future. Thace was so wrapped around Keith’s chubby little fingers it wasn’t even funny. 

When Laurel and Mina came out of the bathroom Keith lit up as though he hadn’t seen them in a millennium. 

“Umma! Mommy!” he screamed running at them full force, nearly tripping over his feet in his excitement. Mina chuckled at his boundless energy and Laurel beamed and bent down and caught him before standing up and spinning them around, blowing raspberries into his neck until he was begging for Laurel to stop. 

“Mommy can I see Umma please,” Keith asked politely, batting his long lashes at Laurel who laughed. 

“Of course, baby,” Laurel said, giving Keith one last kiss before handing a pouting Keith over to Mina, who took him and before holding him very close to her. 

“My, my, a certain little boy looks super cute today, I wonder who it is,” Mina said, tone teasing, fighting a smile. 

“Is it me, Ma, it’s gotta be me, I let Dadda dress me today!” Keith exclaimed loudly, kicking his feet and reaching his hands up to emphasize. 

“Oh but another cute little boy is here today, and I bet you can’t guess who it is,” Mina said coyly, looking at Laurel, who had a hand over her mouth to cover her smile and then at Thace whose face didn’t give anything away but his eyes were sparkling with mirth. Keith concentrated really hard for a few seconds before he gasped dramatically.

“MAMA IS IT SHIWO, MAMA I WANNA SEE MISTAH SHIWO!” Keith yelled, before swinging his head to look at Mina expectantly. 

“It is, Keith, but remember you have to be on your best be--” Mina began, but was interrupted by Keith whooping and then squirming delightedly until Mina had to put him down and he ran circles around the room, yelling “SHIWO SHIWO!”. By this point Laurel had given up on trying to fight her laughter and Mina could see Thace’s shoulders shaking a bit. Mina rolled her eyes and tried to catch Keith to calm him down.

“Keith, listen to your Umma for a second, alright,” Thace said, catching a giggling Keith around his middle. 

“Aw, but Daddy I wanna see Mistah Shiwo, real real bad,” Keith said, a pout back on his lips. Laurel could actually see Thace’s resolve weakening and stepped in before Thace let Keith run wild. 

“I know you do, baby, but you also know there’s a few rules you have to follow,” Laurel reminded Keith, finally over her laughing fit. Keith turned his big eyes onto Laurel, who was only a thread stronger than Thace when it came to Keith. Mina rolled her eyes at how sappy her lovers were before clearing her throat. The three of them turned guilty eyes onto her and she raised an eyebrow. Keith let out a long suffering sigh before reluctantly stalking over to Mina, his feet stomping a little bit. 

“Fine, Umma,” Keith said grumpily and when Mina’s eyebrow stayed up he huffed, but promised, politely this time, “Yes, Ma, I’ll be on my bestest bee-have-your for mistah Shiwo.” Mina smiled, finally satisfied and bent down to gather Keith into a hug.

“That’s my best boy,” Mina said, kissing Keith on the forehead. “Alright, now scoot, I know you’re hungry, get to breakfast. Mommy, Daddy, and I will be there in a minute okay? Save me some bacon.” Keith whooped and began to run out of the room, only slowing when Mina said his name sharply but Mina knew the minute he got out into the hall he was running again. Shaking her head fondly, Mina stood up.

“It is good that Keith likes Shiro, Mina,” Thace reminded Mina, who sighed. “He is the boy’s future mate, after all.” Laurel groaned.

“That word is so gushy Thace, you big sap, you can just say husband or like King Consort,” Laurel reminded him, pretending to wrinkle her nose, as if her heart didn’t beat funny whenever Thace called her his mate. Thace sent Laurel a glare and opened his mouth to say something but Mina beat him to it.

“I know it’s a good thing, and I’m glad that Keith is making friends, but I just…” Mina trailed off, not knowing how to express what she wanted to say. 

“You guys are leaving soon, s’all,” Laurel finished, her voice small. Thace’s irritated expression faded and he pulled both Mina and Laurel into his arms before kissing the tops of their heads. The three of them stood there for a moment, relishing in this peaceful time they got to share with one another, especially when in a few short weeks, there wouldn’t be anymore for a long time. 

Mina had her head leaned on Thace’s chest and she listened to his odd heartbeat, counting them to fight back tears. One, two, three-four-five, six. She didn’t want Keith to leave her, but she also couldn’t imagine waking up without Thace. She couldn’t imagine not waking up to Keith’s incessant knocking at a disgustingly early time every morning. She couldn’t imagine not hearing Keith’s infectious giggle and Thace’s chuckle in response. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen-sixteen-seventeen, eighteen. 

Laurel did her best not to think. Having Mina was more than she could have ever dreamed of ten years ago. Having Mina and another partner and a son, it was too much good for Laurel. Every second she spent happy felt like a moment leading up a tragic fall. Mina had her face buried in Thace’s chest and he had his eyes closed, resting his head on top of hers. But Laurel couldn’t close her eyes, she watched them closely, memorizing the details of Thace’s face carefully so that when her days got dark she could pull up this thought and just breathe. 

The scents were overwhelming when combined in such close quarters, but the distinctive notes that made up Mina and Laurel with some Keith were keeping Thace from giving in to the urge to scream. Thace kept himself busy, usually, with paperwork for Zarkon, or meetings with Mina about the state of the planet, or watching Keith grow and excel, or Laurel’s ability to talk about anything and everything. It was when things got quiet that Thace struggled. When his brain could remind him of all the people that have died at his hands. That he didn’t deserve this beautiful family. That it was his fault that Keith is going to struggle with keeping his two halves balanced. That there were parts of him that would never fit. That there were so many things that could go wrong every second, that something could happen to the reasons he’s not an emotionless shell of a being doing Zarkon’s bidding anymore. It was then that he would close his eyes and just lose himself in Mina and Laurel and Keith and keep his mind focused on them and not other things. But it was hard. Especially in moments like this, when he can hear Mina fighting back tears and Laurel’s heart beating fast with anxiety and feel her eyes on him and when Keith wasn’t close enough to touch. 

Thace’s communicator beeping shocked the three of them out of their respective states of mind. Mina leaned up carefully on her tiptoes and gave Thace a gentle kiss on the mouth then turning and doing the same to Laurel before silently making her way to the bathroom to breathe and put back on her mask of Queen. 

Laurel watched Mina go, staring after her until Thace took her hand. She looked up at him and gave him a tentative smile. His eyes softened and she looked away at the pure emotion before tugging him out the door, starting to babble about anything. He let her. 

Walking down the halls, hands still intertwined, they heard Keith long before they saw him. 

“And then, Shiwo, Mommy showed me how to plant my feet so I dun fall over!” Keith explained excitedly, his voice raising with every word. Laurel chuckled at the simplification, and the fact that Keith was acting like he had it down, when a gentle breeze could knock him over. Enthusiasm over form was practically Keith’s motto. But he had fun, and Laurel enjoyed teaching him. 

When Laurel and Thace finally opened the doors to the dining room they saw Keith standing on his chair, with his fork, pancake piece on it, in the air, as he gesticulated wildly, a huge smile on his face. Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane, a young lord at the age of 10 who was promised to Keith since Keith’s birth, was watching him fondly. Shiro’s father was of fragile health and could rarely travel, so it was Shiro’s mother, a beautiful Japanese woman who was good friends with Mina, who was sitting next to him at the table, rolling her eyes with an indulgent smile on her face. When she saw Laurel, she stood up, not so subtly elbowing her son, who did the same, both of them bowing deeply. 

Thace was still not used to being treated as King so he nervously chuckled and said, “Oh, Tatsu, please, you know these formalities are not necessary, please, continue eating.” Tatsu looked hesitant, but when Laurel smiled warmly at her, she returned the smile with a genuine one of her own and sat down. Keith watched the interaction quietly, only waiting until Shiro had sat down to continue talking.

“Keith Kogane, sit your butt down on the chair like a human being right this instant,” Laurel said, finally noticing that Keith was still standing on his chair. 

“But, Mommy, I’m only half a human bean,” Keith replied indignantly, pouting. Thace turned around immediately, snickering. Laurel suppressed a sigh, although she, too, was amused. Shiro’s shoulders were shaking with laughter until his mom sent a glare his way. 

“Keith.” Keith huffed but plopped into his chair. Laurel shook her head and just as she opened her mouth to say something the doors to the dining room swung open, revealing Mina, looking beautiful as always, no sign of her being upset not even 10 minutes earlier.

“Tatsu Shirogane, my dear friend, welcome,” Mina said warmly, eyes betraying her fondness. Tatsu, who had stood again upon the doors opening, carefully made her way around the table to embrace Mina. The women hugged for a moment longer until Mina held Tatsu at a distance before tsking.

“Tatsu, your beauty, as always, puts me to shame,” Mina said seriously. Tatsu blushed but rolled her eyes, before responding in her soothing voice.

“Mina Kogane, I will hear none of it. Clearly you must be doing something right to have snatched two very attractive partners,” Tatsu replied, a gleam in her eye as she leant forward and whispered something additional in Mina’s ear that had her tilting her head back and laughing uproariously. Laurel and Thace shared a glance but Thace shrugged and Laurel made a face at him. 

Mina led Tatsu back to the table, both of them chittering quietly and giggling. Laurel watched them, remembering a time in her life when she would have been bitterly jealous of them. But now, Laurel couldn’t help but feel a swell of happiness in her chest at the sight, of how happy Mina was to see their old friend. 

Thace’s attention was drawn from watching Mina and Tatsu to Keith, who was tugging the sleeve of Thace’s shirt urgently.

“Daddy, can you ask Mommy if it would be okay for Shiwo pwactice with us?” Keith begged, his eyes big, and mouth trembling. Thace swallowed a laugh at Keith going through him instead of just asking Laurel.

“Why don’t you just ask Mommy, kiddo, I am sure she would not have a problem with the young lord joining us,” Thace replied, looking over at Shiro, who looked hopeful, but blushed when Thace looked at him and studiously looked everywhere else but at Thace. Keith let out a huff at Thace’s response. 

“Mommmmmmy,” Keith whined, turning his gaze over to Laurel, his pout more firmly on his face. “Can Shiwo twain with us? Pleaaaaase?” Laurel looked over at Thace with a puzzled look, making eye contact with him for a few seconds before her eyes returned to her son.

“That’s not up to me, hun, you’re gonna have to ask Lady Tatsu,” Laurel said. When Keith’s pout stayed on his face Laurel sighed deeply before clearing her throat loudly. Tatsu, who up until that point had been absorbed in a hushed conversation with Mina looked up, clearly surprised. “Lady Tatsu, would you be alright with your son joining Keith, Thace, and I in our beginning sword fighting techniques class?” Shiro turned to his mother, pleading with his eyes.

“He would be quite delighted, and I would not stop him. I do ask that he is careful with the young prince, considering he is his own martial arts classes,” Tatsu said, her voice lilting until the end, where she sharply made eye contact with her son. Shiro nodded ecstatically. 

“Yes, of course! I promise to be careful,” Shiro immediately promised, practically vibrating in his chair with excitement. Tatsu sent Shiro a sharp gaze to calm him, but when he did, her eyes softened and she smiled at him, the love in her face clear to Thace, who was familiar with that exact emotion. 

Thace opened his mouth to thank Tatsu when his communicator started vibrating. Immediately Thace was frustrated. His communicator was set to be silent during breakfast, unless there was an emergency, and that was entirely unlikely. He took the communicator out of his pocket and kept it under the table before hitting ignore. Storing away his irritation he went back to eating his breakfast, surrounded by Keith’s chatter and Shiro’s responses, Mina’s laughter and Tatsu’s hushed tone. Laurel hooked an ankle around Thace’s under the table, looking at him concerned.

Thace looked up from his breakfast at her in surprise, Laurel’s concern faded into amusement and then mischief. She ran her foot up his leg gently, and then back down, all the while turning to Mina and joining hers and Tatsu’s conversation. Flustered, Thace concentrated on his breakfast, also slightly entertained by Laurel’s antics. The only sign of anything going on was the slight smirk on Laurel’s mouth and the glint in her eyes. 

Tatsu sent Thace a judging look, clearly having figured out what he and Laurel were up, and Thace choked on his bacon. Despite how polite Tatsu seemed to be, Thace knew it was a front for her son. The Tatsu Thace knew was wild and adventurous, outspoken and unafraid to speak her mind. Thace was mildly terrified of her and Tatsu knew this and was always willing to use it. Once, Thace tried to talk about it with Laurel who laughed at him for a full 2 minutes before teasing him about it. Laurel also explained that Mina and Tatsu had briefly dated in high school and that both Laurel and Mina had made out with Tatsu more than once. Thace couldn’t meet Tatsu’s eye for days afterwards and judging by the smirk she had on her face when he finally did, Tatsu knew exactly why.

At this point, Laurel was casually resting her feet on Thace’s lap from across the small table, so when Thace’s communicator starting buzzing again, she felt it. Laurel stopped mid-word to look at Thace in confusion. Irritated, Thace excused himself from the table and went into the hallway to take the call.

“This had better be extremely important,” he snapped as one of his subordinates’ grainy and pixelated picture loaded. The connection wasn’t great, so they were definitely in space.

“Thace, you have to get out of there right now, take Keith, the Queen, whoever and leave the planet right now,” the soldier urged him, his tone utterly serious and completely terrified.

“What are you talking about? Tell me right now,” Thace ordered, practically growling out the words.

“It’s Zarkon, he figured out it was you that stole the quintessence. Someone on Earth betrayed you, Thace, he knows about Keith. You have to leave right now! I overheard Sendak talking to someone about launching a stealth attack to grab the boy,” the man said, speaking quickly, almost tripping over his words as he rushed to tell Thace as quickly as possible.

“How do I know I can trust you?” Thace asked, and although he was suspicious, he could feel it in his bones that this man wasn’t lying to him. Thace, and Mina and Laurel for that matter, had always known Zarkon would eventually figure it out, the breadcrumbs they have covered would show through the rug eventually, if there were enough of them. And they had left plenty. 

“Please, Thace, you have no reason to trust me, but I… I would not betray you in this way. You are my commanding officer, I have followed you in many battles and my respect for you outweighs my fear for Zarkon. I have kept the secret of Keith for many years, and had I known that,” he paused, his face twisting into a snarl, ears twitching in his outrage, “that snake Ivrip had known about Keith I would have stopped him from telling Haggar.” If Thace’s skin had the ability to pale, it would have.

“Haggar knows about Keith?” Thace whispered, his fear palpable, even to the soldier light years away.

“Yes, Thace, she does. You need to leave. Do what you need to. I will do my best to ensure that a distraction will get you and Keith off planet. Zarkon wouldn’t dare launch an all out attack on Earth. Please. Escape. I’m giving you 3 hours, before I do what I have to. Leos out,” the man, saluted before hesitantly continuing, “Stay safe.” The connection blipped out and Thace stood there in shock for a few moments, clutching his communicator so tight he heard it start to crack, his sharp claws piercing the back a bit before finally getting a hold of himself and racing back into the dining room.

When the doors slammed out, Mina looked furiously behind her to reprimand whoever it was but stopped when she saw the raw terror in Thace’s eyes. 

“It is time, Mina,” Thace said and the joy that had been there not even five minutes previously drained out of her, fear and anger replacing it. Tatsu didn’t even look confused, of course Mina had told her, she only closed her eyes and clutched the hem of her shirt. 

Laurel’s eyes were big and when she made eye contact with Thace, he could see them fill with tears until she shook herself and looked down. When she looked back up at him, she could see the determination in her eyes.

“Daddy?” Keith asked quietly, confusion clear in his voice. “Mommy, Mama, what’s wong?” Shiro looked at Tatsu, a question in his eyes. 

“Shiro, honey, we’re going to your room,” Tatsu said, and her tone brooked no argument, so Shiro got up and went to go to his mom before hesitating. He grabbed Keith and hugged him tightly.

“I’ll see you soon, Keith, I promise,” Shiro whispered in Keith’s hair, stirring the long black strands with his breath. Shiro broke the hug and kissed Keith on the forehead. In the meantime, a similar exchange of hugs was going on between Tatsu and Mina. 

“Be strong for him, Mina,” Tatsu reminded Mina before walking up to Thace a steel in her eyes.

“You and I got off to a rocky start, Thace Kogane. But I have seen the love in your eyes and in your very being when you look at Mina. When you look at Laurel. Most importantly, I see it when you look at Keith. And for that reason, I respect you greatly,” Tatsu took Thace’s hands in her own, squeezing them tightly, her surprisingly callused hands gripping his clawed ones. “Keep him safe for us, Thace. Until we meet again.” Tatsu dropped Thace’s hands after squeezing them one last time and steered her son out of the room, whispering furiously in his ears. Shiro turned around and got a glimpse of Thace before he left, and Thace saw tears in his eyes just as the doors to the dining room closed again. 

“Mommy, I’m scared,” Thace heard Keith mumble to Laurel who was holding him tightly, his chubby hands tangled in her long hair. He buried his face in her neck, clutching her just as tightly, if not tighter. Laurel shushed him quietly, rocking him as she stood up with him in her arms.

“I know, baby. You and Daddy are gonna go somewhere for a little while until it’s safe to come home, okay,” Laurel said to him, her voice low, despite there being no one besides Thace and Mina to overhear them. Keith whimpered, the sound making all of his parents’ hearts break.

“I dun wanna go, I wanna stay wit you ‘n’ Umma,” Keith said, his voice breaking, as tears began to fall from those purple eyes, the ones that started this mess. No, that wasn’t fair. This wasn’t Keith’s fault. Or his eyes. It was Thace’s fault. For being Galra, for falling in love, not once, but twice. For daring to defy Zarkon to save the life of his wife and his unborn child. For hiding such a big secret from the man who wants to own the universe. But he could atone by keeping Keith safe, by protecting an innocent child from growing up under the thumb of the evil Thace had found himself under for the first 30 years of his life. 

Mina took Keith from Laurel, smoothing down his unruly hair. “I wish you could stay, honey, but you have to go with Daddy. I promise we will see you soon,” Mina explained. Mina reluctantly handed Keith over to Thace. “Mommy and I have to go take care of things so you can go, sweetheart, so please be good. I love you so, so much, please never forget that.” Laurel put her hand on Mina’s shaking shoulders and started to lead them away when Keith started screaming.

“No! NO I DUN WANNA GO, UMMA! MOMMY, MOMMY PLEASE,” Keith called desperately, wiggling in Thace’s arms and reaching out towards his mothers. Laurel broke immediately and ran to him and Thace. She wrapped them up in a hug and Keith’s crying quieted, his breath hiccupping and tears falling from his eyes. 

“Umma and I will see you soon, baby, okay, but in the meantime,” Laurel pulled away for a second, barely managed to ignore Keith’s whimpers at the loss of contact. Laurel carefully unhooked her necklace, a gift from her own mother. Keith’s eyes widened, he always played with the necklace, loved that when you pressed the middle a holographic image of Earth came up. Thace had explained to his wives that it was likely the familiar scent of family on the necklace but Laurel thought it was more likely because Keith thought it was cool. “Can you keep this safe for me, until we see each other again?” Keith allowed Laurel to put the necklace on him, his sobs having almost completely faded. “Can you do that, baby?”

“Yeah, Mommy,” Keith said reverently. Laurel smiled, though it wasn’t the megawatt smile she usually saved for her family. 

“Okay,” Laurel whispered and she kissed Keith’s forehead before grabbing the back of Thace’s head to pull him down into a salty kiss. “I love you,” she whispered against his lips, before breaking away and jogging toward Mina. Mina hadn’t joined them because she knew that if she had she wouldn’t have been able to leave. Keith started crying again, but it was silent, as though he had accepted his fate. The thought made Mina’s chest clench. He was too young for this. 

Mina took Laurel’s hand and tugged her away, although it was slightly selfish, she needed Laurel’s support. Laurel squeezed Mina’s hand and they both managed to stay calm until they knew they were out of Keith’s sight. The second they turned the corner, Mina sunk to the floor, silent sobs overtaking her.

Thace carried a still crying Keith down the hall to the courtyard where a path would lead them to the hangar hiding the ship that would take him and Keith off planet and to a solar system far away from the influence of the Galra that had a planet safe for Keith and already equipped to keep them safe for up to 20 years. Thace kept up a brave face for his son, but he could hear Mina’s sobs and Laurel’s quiet shaky voice trying to comfort her and his instincts tore him in two different directions, one part told him he was betraying his mates by leaving them in pain and another told him his offspring came first. Every step was agony, but it was worth it for Keith. 

It took a few minutes, but Mina calmed down enough to stand up and make her way to the control room with Laurel, where they would make sure that everything went well with the pod so it could make the journey to the Palados Galaxy, where Keith and Thace were going. Both of them were silent, not wanting to break the carefully constructed peace.

Keith bounced in Thace’s grip as his father ran through the courtyard, his chubby fingers gripping the necklace tight, whimpers escaping his lips every so often and his cheeks still wet with tears. Thace got to the hangar door and looked around before sneaking the both of them inside. The ship wasn’t large. It was only meant to carry two people, and was built for speed rather than force. It had taken almost the full four years to build, because it was a top secret project and too many people coming in and out would have been suspicious to the random Galra emissaries sent to Earth to “check in”. Thace knew really they were sent because Zarkon was not happy that Thace had refused to harm the Queen and was showing his power in response.

As soon as Thace stepped into the ship, it lit up in response, things turning on. Keith’s eyes widened in awe and Thace knew it was Mina showing that she was in the control room and testing everything for immediate take off. 

“Please strap Keith in, Thace. Laurel and I are about the open the hangar doors. So far there is no signs of any Galra in our space limits, but that doesn’t mean anything. Laurel is working on drafting a message to our allies,” Mina’s voice said over the intercom. Keith lit up at the sound of his Umma’s voice and he whipped his head around looking for the source. When he didn’t find her, tears welled up in his eyes again. Thace set Keith down in the passenger chair and bent down to strap him in. “Keith, honey, I need you to stay calm. Things are going to get really loud, and your head and ears are going to hurt, but if it’s too much just hold Daddy’s hand, okay?”

“Yes, Umma,” Keith said, his voice breaking a little bit, unaware that Mina couldn’t hear him.

“That’s my good boy. Thace do what you need to do. The doors are opening now, and you have 180 seconds until take off.” Mina’s disembodied voice creeped Thace out and it sent his instincts on haywire again but he nodded. Almost in response, the doors began to rumble open. 

The ship’s holoscreen lit up with a countdown, starting at 172, letting Thace know he had wasted 8 seconds. He immediately busied himself with the take-off prep. In the back of the ship there was a closet with some clothes and blankets and to Thace’s surprise, a very small stuffed purple bear that Thace had never seen before and fit in his hand perfectly. Pinned to the bear was a note in Laurel’s handwriting. 

‘Something Mina and I have been spending time with as a surprise to Keith. We love you. P.S. The bear’s name is Thace.’

Thace chuckled through the lump in his throat. As promised, the bear smelled overwhelmingly of Mina and Laurel, likely meant as a way to comfort Keith in the absence of his mothers, but it helped harden Thace’s resolve to get this over with so he could not only return to his lovers, but also return their son to people who loved him. 

“All passengers, please strap in. 30 seconds until take-off,” a computerized voice ordered. Thace tucked the bunny in the pocket of his pants, deciding to give it to Keith when they arrived on the planet as a surprise. The note was tucked into his other pocket. That he, would keep. Strapping himself in, Thace couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread. Despite the fact that Mina had said only minutes ago there was no sign of the Galra, and that the Galra soldier, Leos?, had promised to create a distraction, Thace felt anxious. 

Shaking himself, Thace told himself it was just his nerves, that everything would be fine that they had time. 

“Ten, nine, eight, seven,” the voice counted in its monotone. A message popped up on Thace’s personal screen. “Six, five, four, three…”

‘I love you, take care of yourself and Keith, please. Love always, Mina and Laurel.’ Thace smiled at the message and went to reply but there was a “one” from the automated voice and the ship, which had only been shaking a little, exploded into action, the thrusters engaged and Thace’s head was thrown back into the cushioned chair. Keith let out a small whimper and one hand clutched at the armrest and the other flew towards Thace’s chair. Thace took his son’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly as Keith did his very best to crush every bone in Thace’s hand. Mina was right, everything was very loud, and the further up they went, the pounding in Thace’s ears got louder and thicker, and Thace was momentarily grateful that Keith didn’t have his sensitive hearing in his human form. 

Keith hadn’t let learned how to control his Galra form, and Mina theorized that it would likely only come out when he used his quintessence. Mina was curious at heart and done lots of testing on Keith’s blood and his DNA in general, trying to find traces of the quintessence. She even, with only Thace and Mina present instead of her fellow doctors, had Keith use his quintessence. The results were startling and strengthened Keith’s parents’ resolve that Keith should never be allowed to use his quintessence. Every time Keith used his quintessence, his vitals dropped extremely low. Mina explained that it was likely that the quintessence was tied to Keith’s life force, and he was using pieces of himself to heal other people. 

The knowledge that Zarkon would dismiss this fact in favor of continuing his cause in order to use Keith for his power, likely until he perished, made this mission even more important. Thace’s hand that wasn’t holding Keith’s ripped into the armrest of the chair at the thought of Zarkon using Thace’s son until there wasn’t any part of him left. 

So far, everything was going well, the take-off was a success and now it was a matter of making it into the atmosphere and then Earth’s air space to shed the extra weight before using some of Earth’s ally’s technology to create a wormhole to warp them to the planet optimized for Keith’s survival. 

Thace knew he wouldn’t be able to relax until they made it to the planet, but the first step was making it into outer space. The atmosphere was a blur of different shades of blue around them, and although Keith was obviously very nervous, scared, and sad, he also seemed intrigued. 

Space was less of a goal and more of an inevitability at this point. They were so close, and the ship was rumbling and shaking. Thace felt pressure and then, they finally made it. Thace sat up in his chair, and a shudder ran through the ship, and Thace saw bits of their ship fall off and into the atmosphere where they would burn up into nothing. 

The vastness of space was not lost on Thace, and the distance between where they were going and where Mina and Laurel would be, for an indeterminate amount of time. Despite this, the sight of nothing but the emptiness that went on for lightyears, was familiar. They had beat Zarkon. Even though they weren’t quite safe yet, Thace couldn’t help but breathe out a sigh of relief. A tiny ding sounded from the computer, signalling a message, the last one Thace would likely be able to receive from Earth.

‘The wormhole should be opening momentarily. Stay safe. -M&L’

As if it was signalled by the message, a blue lightning-like phenomenon started up only a little ways away from their ship. Keith let out a quiet “wow” and Thace couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment. 

Keith was so close to being safe, so close to being out of the hands of Zarkon, so close to being able to live his life without fear. So of course, that’s when thing went to shit. The blue of the wormhole turned an ominous purple and when it opened it showed not the destination of the Palados Galaxy, but rather 3 large Galran ship, one of which Thace recognized as Zarkon’s, and another as Sendak’s. Thace felt his heart sink all the way to his toes and his breakfast threaten to make a reappearance. 

“Daddy, who is that?” Thace heard Keith ask, but it sounded like he was saying it from miles away, and could barely be made out from the rushing in his ears. “Daddy, ‘m scared.” Keith’s fearful tone snapped Thace out of his trance.

“Keith, I need you to go hide in the closet. It’s the last door on the right. Please, no matter what you hear, do not come out. Can u promise me that,” Thace asked, very seriously, as he unbuckled himself and then bent down in front of Keith to do the same to him. Keith nodded, and Thace could tell he wanted to cry, but his eyes were only wet, none fell. “That is my good boy. Daddy loves you so, so, so much, never forget that.” Thace took Keith into his arms and squeezed him very tightly, before kissing his forehead. “Okay, now go.” Keith scampered down the hall and Thace didn’t sit back down until he heard the door close. 

Buckling himself back in, he opened a channel to the Galran ship. Zarkon answered.

“Greetings, traitor,” Zarkon said, a sneer on his face. “You will surrender your ship, and the boy, immediately.” Thace did his best to keep the fear and the anger out of his tone.

“I am afraid that Prince Keith is not with me. He is on Earth with his mothers. I got word you wished to discuss something,” Thace lied.

“Do not think I can be so easily fooled. Either you will surrender and hand over the boy, or we will fire on you,” Zarkon snarled. Thace dropped his facade immediately.

“You wouldn’t dare risk your precious quintessence,” Thace answered, baring his teeth. Zarkon threw his head back and laughed. Thace felt a chill run down his spine.

“You assume that Haggar and the other druids cannot retrieve the quintessence from your abomination of a son’s corpse. Do not underestimate their power. And even so, in her grief at the loss of her husband and son, your precious Queen would not be in a place to declare war if I started draining planets again,” Zarkon said smugly. Thace felt any hope he had been holding on to drain out his body, but he refused to show it, and kept his head held high. He might no longer be a soldier, but he still had his pride

“Open the hangar doors,” was all Thace said. Zarkon didn’t even bother with a response, he just hung up.

Thace put the ship on autopilot to go to Zarkon’s ship and then unbuckled himself. He took a moment to steel his will before going to where he had hidden a few weapons on board. As he carefully put the guns together, powering them up with the flick of a switch, it was though brain turned off and he went from loving father and King of Earth to Galran soldier. 

As soon as they landed with a thump, Thace went and stood by the door. He paused only briefly, closing his eyes to send an apology to Mina, to Laurel, and most of all, to Keith. Then he opened his eyes and hit the button to open the door to the ship. 

It couldn’t have lasted for longer than 2 full minutes. Thace was a damn good soldier, but he was only one man against about two dozen. Sure, he got off a few good shots, but eventually he was subdued, beaten and bruised. It was clear that, for some reason, they were told not to shoot him. Then, to his horror, Thace’s very nightmare came true.

“Daddy? Daddy, no! Leave my Daddy alone!” Thace tried to rip himself from the grip of the soldiers that had him, but there were too many and he was forced to watch as his son, clearly terrified out of his mind, ran at the closest Galra soldier and kicked his shin. The soldier didn’t hesitate. He pulled back his fist and socked Keith in the face, knocking him out. Thace let out a roar of anger and fear as he watched Keith crumple to the floor. It took another two soldiers to hold him back and he screamed and fought, until he felt the butt of a gun sharply hit his head, and he, too, found himself in a sea of black.

\---

When Thace woke up, his arms were chained behind his back. He heard a whimper from his left and upon looking over, Thace found Keith in a similar situation, but still passed out. Thace couldn’t help the growl he let out at the sight. Zarkon, who Thace had yet to notice at this point, let out a chuckle at the pitiful noises coming from his prisoners. At the sound, Thace whipped his head towards Zarkon and bared his teeth, a snarl on his lips. 

Keith stirred at hearing both the laughter and his father’s growl. Thace wanted to reach for his son, especially as he saw the furrow in Keith’s brow and the puffiness of his chin where a bright purple bruise was forming. He was stopped by his restraints.

“I am sure, Thace, that you are wondering why I kept you around this long. I only wish for you to know that when you die, your son will not even know your name, let alone care,” Zarkon said, his face smug. 

“Of all I have learned on Earth, by far some of the most useful is vulgar langauge. So go fuck yourself, my lord,” Thace spat, tone dripping with sarcasm and hate. Zarkon’s face briefly showed his irritation but it faded when the doors slammed open and in their wake was Haggar, an old Galran druid woman, who, even when Thace was loyal to the Galran Empire, struck fear in Thace’s heart.

“Greetings, Emperor,” Haggar said, her low voice making Thace want to shiver, but he controlled the urge. Zarkon waved her in and she bowed before making her way to Zarkon’s throne, not even sparing Thace a glance.

“The boy, I want his memories of Earth and his,” Zarkon paused, looking disgusted “family, to be erased. I do not care what you replace them with, if you replace them at all. I want him loyal to the Empire and no one else. Am I understood?” Haggar didn’t even hesitate before nodding.

“A simple task. I will do it now.” Haggar bowed lowly again at Zarkon before turning around and making her way towards Keith’s still mostly unconcious body on the ground. 

 

“Do not touch him,” Thace hissed, once again struggling to get to his son, but his restraints not only limited his movement in his arms, but also weighed him down. He was of no help to Keith like this. Haggar’s hood hid most of her face, but Thace could see the cruel grin that twisted her lips.

“Or what, traitor? Will you use your mean Earthling words on me?” she taunted before returning her attention to Keith, blocking out anything else Thace said or threatened her with.

When Haggar’s hands laid upon Keith’s forehead, his eyes snapped open and he began to scream, tortured awful screams. He screamed for his mothers, and he screamed for Thace, he screamed for help, from anyone, please, please help me, he begged. Thace matched his son and fought at his restraints until he was bleeding profusely, tears streaming down his face. 

It all stopped quite abruptly. One moment Keith’s screams filled the room, the next it was dead silent except for Thace’s sobs and Haggar’s panting. Keith blinked a few times, looking confusedly up at Haggar.

“Who are you?” he asked in a small voice. She didn’t say anything, only stepped away from him, bowing briefly to Zarkon before sweeping out the room. Keith’s eyes turned to Zarkon. “Wha’s goin’ on?” Keith’s eyes began to fill with tears. Zarkon stood up from his throne and stalked over to Keith before gripping his chin tight. Thace growled in protest, but Zarkon ignored him.

“You will not cry in my presence, boy,” Zarkon demanded and Keith looked up at him in terror. “I am the Emperor Zarkon, and you will not shame your race by acting like an infant.” Keith nodded slowly.

“Okay,” Keith said and Zarkon snarled at him and gripped his chin tighter until Keith whimpered.

“That is Yes, sir to you, got it?” Zarkon barked.

“Y-yes, sir,” Keith said quickly, his tongue stumbling over the words. Zarkon did his best imitation of a smile before carefully turning Keith’s head towards Thace. Keith’s eyes widened, but beyond that, didn’t show any sign of recognition.

“Do you know that man, Keith?” Zarkon asked. Keith looked confused, until Zarkon shook him a little and asked again. “Tell the truth, Keith.”

“N-no, sir, I dunno him,” Keith said, wincing, in fear of his not knowing have a negative effect and making Zarkon hurt him again. To Keith’s surprise, Zarkon let out a loud laugh and finally let go of Keith. When Keith looked over at the man again, he was slumped on the ground, his forehead touching the ground. The man looked at Keith under his hair and Keith swallowed at the pure despair in the man’s eyes.

“Take him away,” Zarkon ordered flippantly to the guards who immediately went to do his bidding. “Oh and take care of the garbage.” The guards nodded, clearly understanding. Keith watched all of this go down in confusion and then as the guards dragged the still man out of the door, who was still on his knees.

When they got into the hallway, there were two loud BANG noises, each of them making Keith jump, jump. He looked hesitantly at Zarkon who beckoned Keith forward with a clawed finger. Keith’s restraints snapped and he could finally stand up. He made his way on unsteady feet towards Zarkon. 

“Kneel, boy,” Zarkon commanded and Keith fell to his knees. A horrible sharp-toothed grin made it’s way across Zarkon’s face and Keith couldn’t help but shiver. “You, boy, are going to help me in ways you cannot yet understand.”  
And Keith didn’t understand, but he was afraid.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! I know it's been a while since I updated this but don't think I've forgotten about this work! School and work and just life took over my brain and it's difficult for me to write if I'm not in a certain mood. Thankfully I got a burst of inspiration and was able to bust out the last few paragraphs yesterday! A huge thank you to everyone who commented or kudos'd or even gave this a shot and read it I really appreciate the support and just know that every e-mail notification gave me pure joy! Y'all are the best! Enjoy this chapter!

Two lone ships drifted in space, one a large and white, green, and orange, the other a far smaller ship and a bright blue. 

“Sooo, Nyma, you free after this?” Lance drawled into the comms, watching in delight as Nyma’s face scrunched up in disgust.

“Ew, Lance, how many times do I have to tell you, not interested,” Nyma scowled, her focus not on him, but rather on running diagnostics. Lance pretended to pout anyway, his bottom lip jutting out. 

“Nyma, I didn’t mean for me, gosh, I met this really nice alien on--” Lance started, but was interrupted by Rolo groaning loudly.

“Lance, can you please focus on the mission, for once in your life,” Rolo snapped. Lance put his hand up to his chest in mock hurt.

“I’ve have you know I take everything, very seriously,” Lance said. “Especially finding Nyma a hot alien babe to love and cherish.” This time Rolo and Nyma groaned, Beezer joining in with beeps. “Aw, c’mon, even you Beezer?” The robot chirped and Lance went to respond when both ships lit up in red alert.

“Shit! It’s a regular patrol from the IPF,” Nyma explained, her hands flying across her screen. “I don’t know why they aren’t in the patrol lists Secin gave me.”

“Do you think they’ve spotted us yet?” Lance asked nervously.

“Attention, pirates. This is the Intergalactic Police Force. Land your vessels on the nearest planetoid for apprehension. If you do not comply, we will use force.”

Lance sighed. “So that’s a yes, then.” 

“Lance, shut up! We need to split up! There’s only one ship, and I know I can outfly them if need be. We’ll meet back on Callisto, alright?” Rolo ordered. 

“What? No! You guys have everything from the last mission, and not to say I don’t trust you, but,” Lance trailed off. Nyma looked up into the comms to send Lance a glare and he visibly balked, but didn’t back down, only raising an eyebrow.

“Good, don’t trust us, I don’t care. It’s more incentive for you to meet us on Callisto,” Nyma said. Lance huffed but nodded before cutting the comms. 

“We are taking your non-compliance as a threat. You have 30 ticks to surrender. 30, 29. 28.” The countdown was cut off by Rolo and Nyma’s ship shooting at the IPF, before the engines kicked in and Rolo and Nyma took off. Lance wheeled his own ship around and flew as fast as he could in the other direction. 

When the IPF ship paused, Lance sent a prayer to his Mama’s God and then cursed when the IPF turned towards Lance’s escaping ship and began to fire. Lance had no idea why they would go after the clearly smaller ship, but honestly it was just his luck. Muttering as he rolled out of the way of the incoming fire, Lance frantically tried to think of a way out of this situation. Although his ship was smaller and more built for speed, Lance didn’t know this part of the galaxy as well as Rolo. What Lance needed was to use up all of his power in one go and find someplace to hide until IPF gave up on him for the time being. 

“Alright Blue, I need you to help me find a place to hide, search for something not in this region, somewhere remote and uninhabited,” Lance said, most of his focus on staying out of the way of the IPF’s fire. Unfortunately, his ship hadn’t been updated for combat yet, he had no working blasters. The ship pulled up a screen which shifted through planets quickly, but Lance paid it no mind, he was too busy talking.

“Next time Pidge, we update what  _ I say _ is most important!” Lance said to himself, before his voice switched into a mocking falsetto. “Oh but Lance, Blue needs better cooling systems or she’ll overheat!” Lance switched back to his own voice. “Okay but there will be nothing left to overheat if I’m DEAD!” As if in punctuation, Lance’s ship was rocked by fire clipping the edge of his ship, sending him spiraling and red alert messages popping up on the screen, telling him an engine needed immediate maintenance. “FUCK! Blue, I could really use those coordinates right about now!” 

Lance’s personal screen lit up with a planet, seemingly empty and very far away, tucked in between so many other larger planetoids it was almost invisible to Lance’s sensitive sensors. It was a perfect place to hide. Lance grinned and patted his controls. 

“Way to go Blue! Alright let’s punch it before we have no power to get there!” Lance up until this point had been waiting for the right opportunity, only going as fast as he needed to to stay out of the range of fire until he came up with a solid plan. Well he had it now, and so he immediately diverted all of the nonessential power in the ship towards the blasters, including the energy from the engine that needed maintenance and the new cooling system. 

Immediately the ship lit up an intense blue and it stopped completely, surprising the IPF who also stopped. Lance grinned and let out a whoop as the ship catapulted forward, the stars and space a blur around him as Blue poured everything into getting to the coordinates. Lance’s sensors told him that the IPF was in pursuit, but were following him from very far behind. If Lance could get to where he was going, he could hide on the planetoid until Blue told him they were far enough away he could sneak to Callisto. 

A few warnings lit up hit screen, and he knew it was an inevitability that his ship would only last at this speed for so long, but everything just needed to last him until he got to… where was he going again? Jarre? A desert planet with seemingly no life. Previously conquered by the Galra. 

Lance balked at this information. All of his data told him that it hadn’t been visited by a patrol in months, but it still made him nervous. Lance himself wasn’t wanted by the Galra, but Nyma and Rolo were, for stealing from them and just associating with them was bad enough to get him thrown in the Arena. 

With an extremely abrupt stop, Blue idled a little outside of the atmosphere of Jarre. The desert planet loomed a bright ostentatious red. Winds whipped up the red sand and Lance could see storms brewing across the whole planet. He shivered in disgust at the thought of having to live on such a dry planet. Blue’s screens lit up reminding him he wasn’t just exploring the universe for his own enjoyment, he was on the run. Hoping for the best, Lance set a course for a part of the planet not experiencing any such storms.

To Lance’s surprise, although there was the planet was definitely mostly desert, there was also very distinctly large dome over some of the surface of the planet that was only visible when he got within the atmosphere. Underneath the dome Lance could make out small spots of colors other than the red of the planet’s sands. A quick re-scan of the planet told him the same thing as before. The planet was uninhabited and there were no signs of life. Lance huffed in frustration. It was clear someone was living on the planet.

When Lance looked back up it was as though the biodome he had clearly saw only a moment ago was gone. Lance did a double take before leaning forward and squinting. A glint caught his eye and he grinned. He reached forward and blew up the glint. As soon as he did he could see the hexagonal pattern that likely reflected the area around to make the dome invisible. Clearly it malfunctioned at just the right moment for Lance to catch a brief glimpse. 

Sure it would probably be in Lance’s best interest to avoid that area and just find another place on the vast planet to hide. But that would be an intelligent decision and Lance is firmly against those. And maybe he’s a little curious. So Lance ignored the voice in his head, that sounded weirdly like his friend Hunk’s, that told him to stay away from the dome, idiot. Lance winced. ‘Idiot’ was definitely his inner Pidge chiming in.

Lance went with his gut on most of his decisions, made split-second choices to stay alive and out of the IPF’s hands. So it surprised Lance that even though he knew his friends would likely not approve, this decision didn’t feel  _ wrong _ or like he was heading towards danger. 

The planet didn’t have breathable air for Lance so he got into his suit while Blue took him on autopilot to just outside where the dome ended, as far as Lance could tell. Blue’s sensors told him that while the IPF was certainly nowhere close to finding him, it also wasn’t safe enough to leave the mysterious planet. 

Not that Lance wanted to anyway. Despite the dangers of going on an unknown planet and trying to find something that very clearly didn’t want to be found, Lance was excited. Becoming a space pirate, as cool as it sounded, wasn’t what Lance had originally gone into space for. A mere 2 years ago, Lance had run away from home, sneaking aboard a docked cargo ship in hopes of exploring the universe.  Looking back, Lance has since realised that he was a dumb kid, freshly an adult, and regrets it whenever he looks at the worn photo of his family taped to his control panel. 

For the first 6 months, life was good. A member of the ship, an alien from the planet Cravis 0 named Oebus, who, found him crammed in a closet sleeping. To Lance’s relief, instead of kicking him off the ship, Oebus gave him a job as a janitor: cleaning bathrooms, mopping floors, etc. Sure, it wasn’t glamorous and Lance complained about it constantly, but he made new friends, and even had his first (and second… and third… and sixth) kisses on that ship. The captain of that ship, who everyone just called Captain Z, was another nice alien who took pity on Lance and practically babied him. Z showed him how to chart the stars and taught him the cargo shipments and even taught Lance how to fly some of the smaller cargo ships. Z was kind of a parent to Lance and while he appreciated the efforts, it made him really miss his own parents.

Adventuring across the galaxy was fun, but they were coming up on a delivery to Earth again soon, and Lance had decided he wanted to go home. Z and Oebus and all of Lance’s other friends were sad, but happy for him. Only six days before they arrived at Earth, the Zi-yns, the ship Lance had called home for six months, was forcefully boarded by pirates, who killed everyone who resisted, including Captain Z and Oebus. Lance watched them die to protect him after they took the blame for him when he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

The pirates took Lance and other crewmates as their prisoners to sell to the Galra. There, Lance met Nyma and Rolo. Both had been with the pirates for almost a year and would do anything to get out, even trust a naive lanky kid who claimed he could fly them out of there. 

The Galra took the prisoners in batches, based on random selection. Lance would find out later that Nyma had been hacking the systems to make sure her and Rolo a few others who promised to help, and then Lance, were never called. Eventually only they, and a handful of others, remained. Whey they finally escaped, Lance learned of Nyma and Rolo’s true plans for the pirates. Revenge. And Lance, who couldn’t stop thinking about Captain Z and Oebus and the other 30 crewmates he’d seen sold and felt rage. So, he agreed. They fired on the pirate’s ship, whose defenses and weapons had been disabled by Nyma again, until nothing remained. 

The tight feeling in Lance’s stomach, the grief and pain he had held onto for the months he was on the pirate ship didn’t abate when there was nothing left of the place that held so much pain for him. Instead he felt sick. Rolo and Nyma then decided to become pirates in spite of this, taking Lance along for the ride. Lance couldn’t bring himself to want to go home anymore. His mama wouldn’t ever speak to him again if she learned of what he had done. So he stayed with them. Eventually he lost the few other crewmates that had escaped with them to their home planets or to other jobs. 

Lance’s chest ached with the memories of his former crewmates and he paused in the trek towards the dome to close his eyes and take a breath. The planet’s two suns beat down on him in unison and sweat rolled down the side of his face. Lance pictured his home’s beautiful beaches and remembered the sound of the bright blue green waves crashing on the white sand mixing with the laughter and screeches of his younger siblings. What Lance wouldn’t give for a beautiful ocean view right now. Huffing at the stupid thought, Lance opened his eyes.

The sunlight reflected off the dark red sand and made Lance’s eyes hurt. Lance hadn’t put the ship down too far away from the dome. Or so he had thought. A cursory glance backwards told Lance that he had made it a fair distance from the ship and the dome  _ should _ be close but Lance couldn’t see it anymore and was walking blind. Squinting Lance tried to make out any hexagonal shapes as his feet crunched in the sand as he continued to walk. 

CRACK!

Lance stumbled backwards, head spinning and ears ringing from slamming the helmet of his suit into what he assumed was the biodome. When Lance recovered, a little grateful no one had seen that embarrassing moment, he brought his hand up to touch the biodome, which rippled around his hand. The ripples fanned out from where he touched it and showed Lance every inch of the frankly enormous dome. Including a door shaped rectangle not too far away from where Lance stood.

Lance paused, and remembering he was alone, gave in to the urge to do a quick victory dance and slide on over to where, hopefully, the door was. Just as he lifted his hand to knock on the biodome the door slid up and open and immediately there was a neon purple muzzle pointed at his forehead before a buzz and then darkness.

 

A few hours earlier

 

Keith groaned as an incessant beeping woke him from his slumber. Irritated, he opened his eyes up just a little bit to see that it was his communicator. Another groan and Keith heaved himself out of bed, rolling his neck and shoulders to get the creaks out. Stumbling towards the control panel to the communicator, Keith grumbled, “Answer incoming call.”

Immediately the screen lit up with a symbol before crackling into the image of a familiar, unhappy, face. 

“What took so long, Keith?” the person demanded in an impatient tone. Keith managed to bite his tongue on a sigh and a rude response. Instead, he quickly saluted.

“I apologize, sir, it will not happen again,” Keith promised, knowing very well it would.

“See to it, Keith. I require a status update.” Keith took a deep breath and began to report, in monotone, the status of not only his biodome, but also himself, keeping it entirely impersonal, as though he was talking about someone else’s life and not his own. When Keith finished, he waited for the man’s, Emperor Zarkon’s, response.

“You are responsible for maintaining the well-being of the weapon and the biodome. It seems as though you are keeping both in working order, however, I will be seeing all of this for myself when I arrive within the next 10 risings and settings of your planet’s sun.” Keith bit back the urge to correct Zarkon with the name of the planet, but a sharp pain in his arm reminded him why that was a bad idea. 

“Yes, sir. Is there anything else you require of me, sir?” Keith asked, making sure to keep his tone plain and respectful.

“No. The Druid Haggar will be accompanying me. Prepare for our arrival. Zarkon out.”

“Vrepit Sa,” Keith said, saluting again as the screen went dark, showing the symbol of the Galra Empire. The empire of Zarkon. Keith sighed and went back over to his bed, plopping down on the mushed sheets and covering his face with his hands and groaning. Keith had been on this planet, Jarre, for over a decade. 

At first, Haggar and the other druids rotated staying with him, just to keep him alive because he was only a child, at 11, and to experiment on Keith in order to try and learn the limits of his abilities. The experiments were rarely successful and the more frustrated Haggar and the other druids became, the more harsh they were with him.

They eventually left when he turned 14, having taught him the skills of how to survive and given up on their experiments on him in favor of trying to replicate substance Haggar called quintessence his blood produced. Even so, he is visited by a druid, usually Haggar, and sometimes Zarkon, once a month in Jarre’s time. The visits are to collect new samples and occasionally to use Keith’s abilities to extend Zarkon’s life. Each visit takes longer and takes more out of Keith. 

The druids tried to hide it from Keith, but he has always been adept at not being seen when he doesn’t want to be. Keith’s ability, the so-called quintessence his blood produces and that he can manipulate with his hands, uses up Keith’s very life force. Eventually Keith would give his life in service of Zarkon. He is sure that he’s supposed to think it’s a great honor, but Keith can’t help but feel sick at the thought. 

Letting out a final sigh, Keith ran a hand through his hair and then grimaced at the grime and length. It would be time for a messy haircut soon. His mouth twisted at the thought. Keith got up from his bed in the corner and very carefully and automatically made the bed before heading to the adjoining bathroom. 

A cold washcloth across his face and neck woke Keith up enough for him to get on with the rest of his chores. While carefully brushing teeth, Keith made eye-contact with himself in the mirror. His reflection sneered back at him, taking in the features that set him apart from other Galra. DNA testing had told Keith that he was indeed at least half Galra, not that he looked it. In fact, unless Keith was using his quintessence he looked entirely alien. Where other Galra had purple fur, Keith had lightly colored skin. His hair mostly grew from the top of his head, which also tended to be unruly and black. Even Keith’s eyes were out of the norm. A weird purple-ish blue, that the Druids told him came from his quintessence and tended to glow when he was either experiencing a strong emotion or using his powers. 

Unfortunately for Keith, even when he used his quintessence and turned more Galra-looking, it was still patchy purple and his normal skin color combined. His alien ears turned into fluffy Galra ears and claws would break through his nail beds, but other than that, he remained mostly alien. Zarkon hated the way Keith looked when he transformed, calling him on multiple occasions a disgusting abomination. Zarkon also refused to tell Keith what his other half was, only that it was an inferior race unfit to be combined with the Galra. 

Spitting out the rest of the toothpaste into the sink, with probably a lot more anger than necessary, Keith made sure to not look at himself in the mirror anymore. Keith headed out of the bathroom into the closet connected to his room, trying to find something light so that he could finish his chores without sweating himself to dehydration. A glint caught his eye and Keith looked down to find that his hiding place had somehow been disturbed. 

A panel of the metal floor was slightly out of place, revealing the small box inside. Keith almost gave in to the urge to open the box but resisted. Spending too much time in the closet was suspicious and Keith hadn’t looped the cameras to be able to do as he pleased, a risk Keith rarely took because it was dangerous enough to do it once a month, let alone more often. So Keith carefully fixed the hiding spot and finished putting on a light tank and breathable pants. He had wasted enough time, there were things to be done.

Although the biodome was mostly self-sustaining when it came to power, Keith still had to do regular maintenance checks to ensure that nothing was wrong because the life support system going out would mean that Keith would choke to death on the natural air of Jarre that lacked the oxygen he required to stay alive. 

There was also the task of growing food. Sure, Zarkon made sure that his minions brought the basic necessities by every month, but Zarkon believed that Keith shouldn’t be lazing around all day and should work to stay alive. The fact that Keith was more compliant towards Zarkon’s wishes when he was bone tired from weeding and taking care of his garden and plants surely also had something to do with it.

However, Keith didn’t mind the work. It was something to do and there was a simple sort of satisfaction in watching something grow and grow and reaping the rewards and then repeating the process. Keith also no longer just grew food, he had moved onto introducing alien flora and fauna into new environments. And, not that Keith would ever admit it, the bright colors surrounding him at any given time was calming.

After taking care of his plants, Keith usually moved on to working out. It was a very strict training regimen that had also been implemented by Zarkon. Once again, however, Keith enjoyed the exercise and pushing himself to his limits. The exhilaration of seeing how finishing a new level on his training bot without falling on his ass a million times was topped by very few feelings. Zarkon liked to knock Keith down a few pegs when he visited, never satisfied with Keith’s progress. By the time Zarkon left Jarre, Keith was exhausted from using his quintessence and covered in bruises and sore from “training”. 

If Keith had time or needed a break from the hard labor he did, he would climb to a spot he built above all the plants and near the highest point of the biodome where he could look either down at the plants and just relax or look up at the stars. A hobby that Keith had managed to keep secret from Zarkon was his stargazing. Plotting the stars, sometimes with the help of his navigation systems and then figuring out the patterns and getting to, at least somewhat, explore the universe, was the most interesting part of Keith’s life. One anomaly that had stumped him to date was a weird smattering of brightly colored satellites that were released thousands of lightyears away, only once a year. Analysis told Keith that the planet that sent them out into space was called Earth, which was ruled by 5 monarchies, one for each continent. The planet was currently at war with the Galra, more of a standoff if Keith’s research was correct. What Keith’s information didn’t tell him was why Earth released the satellites and what they could possibly mean as they grew in number by one each year. Ever since he discovered them almost 6 years ago, Keith wanted to know the reason behind such an odd occurrence. 

The thought of being able to spend more time trying to figure out the anomaly, which was only a week out, inspired Keith to get on with his chores. Keith ate a quick breakfast of some of the planet’s native fruits, one of the few nontoxic to his genetic make-up, before heading down to the bottom floor of the biodome, which flourished with life of every color. It usually took at least an hour to go through the routine of watering the plants and although the biodome usually regulated temperature, there were many plants native to Jarre that required extreme heatto survive. So the twin suns glared down through the glass-like material, making Keith sweat until he was dripping. 

Although he never minded the heat, likely partly due to his biology and also partly due to growing up in the environment of Jarre, there was only so long Keith could take the suns, and so Keith took a breather to drink some water and bring down his core temperature enough to begin his workout. The gym was very spacious and contained all of the necessary and up-to-date equipment. It was one of the largest areas in the entire biodome, only after the area where Keith grew his plants and food. 

Keith was interrupted during his workout by an alarm, telling him that someone had arrived in Jarre’s space. Confused, Keith made his way over to the computer in the workout room, unraveling the tape on his hands. A second alarm went off, alerting Keith that the same person was scanning his planet. Grimacing, Keith tapped the holographic screen to zoom in. The ship was an ostentatious blue, definitely not one of Zarkon’s. To Keith’s horror, the ship stopped, as if thinking about entering the planet’s atmosphere. His horror was immediately dwarfed by his insatiable curiosity. 

No one was supposed to know where he was, but this ship didn’t seem like it was looking for Keith or even seemed to know he was here. In a brief lapse of judgement, Keith turned off the reflectors that kept him hidden to get a better picture of the ship and also to see if the ship would notice. Keith found himself regretting the decision when seconds later the ship paused and then set its course to where his biodome was. Keith cursed and immediately turned the cloaking back on. 

When the ship landed less than a five minutes walk away from the biodome Keith freaked out. Zarkon would kill him if an outsider found him. Keith was Zarkon’s best kept secret. This person needed to leave. Keith pulled at his hair, trying to think of a solution. A quick glance at the monitor told him that a figure in a bright blue space suit had exited the matching blue ship. Keith wrinkled his nose, this person must really blue. Shaking himself from the useless train of thought, Keith was about to dash to get a weapon when he thought twice. It would likely be the best course of action to loop the camera. Biting his lip, Keith looked at the screen to watch the blue figure, easy to spot in a sea of red, come steadily closer to the biodome. Taking a deep breath, Keith decided to do it. It was easy to fix later but, Keith thought wryly, better to be safe than sorry. 

Taking the precious few minutes to fix the cameras meant that by the time Keith had finished, the blue figure was extremely close to the biodome. To Keith’s amusement, the figure didn’t stop and walked full force into the biodome. Keith brought a portable screen with him as he ran to the weapons bay, hesitating before only grabbing a stunner. Keith wanted information before he sent the stranger on his way. 

The figure was raising their hand to knock on the biodome when Keith made it to the front entrance. Immediately, Keith pressed the button to open the door, weapon raised and at the ready. When the door slid open, Keith saw bright blue eyes through the helmet widen in surprise and it was a reflex to pull the trigger. The figure dropped to the floor.

Looking at the unconscious body on the floor, Keith sighed. Perhaps it would have been better to let the person in before stunning them so Keith wouldn’t have to drag them as far. The person was pretty heavy, but nothing that Keith couldn’t handle. Keith slung the body over his shoulder and huffed his way to the training room. 

Keith did his best to gently put the person on the floor before making his way over to his systems. A few keystrokes later and his computer was scanning the figure on the floor. To Keith’s immense surprise, the figure could breathe the same air that Keith did. Deciding to get a better look at his intruder, Keith went over and bent down, taking a deep breath to steel his nerves before pressing the button so the figure’s helmet would pop off. When it did Keith tripped over himself in an effort to get away from the figure. Keith’s jaw had dropped and he leaned over to check again. Yes. Definitely. This… alien… was the same race as Keith’s other half. Perhaps this man would have more answers than Keith initially anticipated. Now it was only a matter of doing something Keith had always struggled with. 

Being patient. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's hard for me to not end on a cliffhanger I'm sorry! I promise this next chapter won't take nearly as long and Keith and Lance will meet! Also you will see more of Earth and meet the other characters of Voltron! Including a certain beautiful alien. Thank you for reading this and feel free to leave feedback or ask for clarification if something doesn't make sense! 
> 
> Sidenote on how I imagine some things to be pronounced:  
> Secin (Nyma's friend): Sess-in  
> Callisto (planet where Lance is supposed to meet up with Nyma and Rolo): Call-iss-toe  
> Jarre (planet where Keith resides): Jar   
> Oebus (dead friend of Lance's): Ee-bus  
> Zi-yns (ship Lance used to be on): Zai-ens
> 
> find me on tumblr @santalance

**Author's Note:**

> Come bother me on [tumblr](hvnkgarret.tumblr.com) about my (or ur) Mina/Thace/Laurel hc's and also to keep writing this! Any thoughts are appreciated! Once again, if you think anything else needs to be tagged please let me know! And thank you for taking the time to read this!


End file.
